ON A MORNING LIKE THIS—Mark 16:1-8
“In the sky the song of the skylark greets the dawn in the fields wet with dew
The scent of the violets fills the air on such a lovely morning as this
Surely on such a lovely morning as this Lord Jesus came forth from the tomb.”
John Carden, A Procession of Prayers
“On such a lovely morning as this…”
Easter has become a celebration of spring: Days are longer, the grass is greening, leaves are popping out on the trees, and flowers bring color back into the world.
So, on that first Easter, the women came to the tomb, wearing their Easter outfits, carrying Easter baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and marshmallow eggs.
NOT! On that first Easter morning, three women who had followed Jesus got up early, to go to a tomb just outside of Jerusalem. There was Mary Magdalene, who knew the face of evil personally until Jesus cast out her demons. There was another Mary, the mother of the disciple James the Less, who followed Jesus with her son. Then there was Salome, the mother of James and John (the Sons of Thunder), who had big hopes and dreams for her sons, when Jesus would set up his kingdom in Jerusalem.
“On a morning like this…” What kind of morning was it?
On Friday of that week, their hopes and dreams, their very lives, fell apart when Jesus took his last breath on the cross. On Saturday, when the sun had gone down and the Sabbath was over, the women risked their safety to go out into the darkness, to buy burial spices. Early Sunday morning, with their tears no longer flowing, they went sadly to the tomb, hoping the body wouldn’t stink too much when put the spices around the body. They were helpless and alone, as they couldn’t even find a man or two to roll the heavy stone away from the entrance to the hillside grave.
On that not-so-lovely morning, they were preparing to say a final goodbye to Jesus—and not just to Jesus, but goodbye to their hopes and dreams.
“On a morning like this…” What kind of morning is this—this Easter morning?
On this Easter morning, some worship in war zones, where constant anxiety hangs in the air. Some are forced to gather secretly in homes, fearing for their lives or freedom. Some find themselves under overpasses, homeless and despairing. “On such a lovely morning as this…”? Maybe not so lovely!
Many are in church today, but some are sitting with their husband or wife (or not), and wondering, “Where do we go from here? Is there any hope for us?”
Some are looking over at the kids, thinking, “What do we do? We didn’t think it would be this hard! How do we raise kids in a world like this?”
Some are overwhelmed by stress and pressure: debt, work, or trying to find time to fit it all in.
Some are fighting depression, or wracked by guilt, or feeling lonely and out of place.
Others have the world by the tail: Their lives really are filled with sunshine and birds and flowers—for now. But is this “it”? Is this what all that life is meant to be?
“On a morning like this…Jesus came forth from the tomb.”
We know how the story goes, don’t we?
The women come to the tomb, and they are thrilled to see that stone has been rolled away. A glorious, shining angel appears, to say, “Don’t be afraid. Jesus is alive!” Then, there appears a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest…” (Oops—That was Christmas.) The angel says, “Go tell his disciples.” The disciples are immediately thrilled to hear that Jesus is alive! Everyone sings: “Alleluia!” Then they all go home and color Easter eggs, and eat Easter ham.
But that is not how the story goes in the gospel of Mark!
Read Mark 16:4-5. They were “alarmed”! Of course they were! The tomb was wide open, Jesus’ body was gone, and only a young man dressed in a white robe was there. What was going on? Where was the body? They certainly didn’t expect that Jesus would rise from the dead, or they wouldn’t have brought the spices, and worried about rolling the stone away.
The young man, who didn’t look much like an angel in a movie, had an incredible message for them: “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
That was great news, but was it true? Could they believe it?
The women reacted like most of us would have reacted. Read Mark 16:8. They were “trembling…bewildered…afraid.” How could they not be? They didn’t know the young messenger, they hadn’t seen Jesus yet, and they had no way of knowing that Jesus was really alive, as the man said.
So Mark’s gospel ends like this: Read Mark 16:8.
If you have an older translation of the Bible, you might find more verses after that. In a newer Bible, those verses might be set off from the rest of Mark, with a note that they were not in the original text. Mark wrote his gospel in about 65 A.D., and by comparing manuscript copies, scholars can determine that several different endings were added later to the end of the gospel. Apparently, some people did not think the gospel should end with verse 8, so they added a few verses to wrap things up. By comparing the various manuscripts, scholars are able to determine where and when various endings were added by others.
Without going into technical details, I can tell you that we know with great certainty the words that Mark put on the scroll on which he wrote his gospel, from Mark 1:1 through 16:8. If he wrote anything after 16:8, it is lost; perhaps the end of the scroll fell off, before any copies were made. But wouldn’t somebody have picked up on that? Some have speculated that Mark was unable to finish writing for some reason.
I don’t know why Mark’s gospel ends like it does, but I am glad it does, because otherwise we might miss how the women felt early that morning. We usually jump ahead to the “Alleluia” of Easter, but the ending of Mark’s gospel leaves us hanging, asking with the women, “What if the story ended with an empty tomb, but no risen Lord?” What if Jesus had not actually risen from the dead, with a more glorious, immortal body?
I found myself facing that question many years ago, when I first preached on this text.
****(Note for preacher: You probably have your own story.)
My wife and I had stepped out in faith, to plant a new church. After three years of low numbers, we were forced to close. A large church that had supported us was without a pastor, and they had an empty parsonage, where we could live until they found a new pastor. I loaded up a truck and moved our family, and we enrolled our daughter in kindergarten. As time went on, I was doing everything a pastor does, and the church was growing. After a few months, they asked me to become a pastoral candidate, and most people in the church assumed I would be called as their next pastor.
After a Maundy Thursday service, the pastoral search committee met, and we were informed later that evening that they would be bringing in another candidate, on the Sunday after Easter. We were shocked, and panicked, as we did not think we should be there when he came to preach. We made plans to leave on Monday morning, taking our two young children to spend time with our family in another state.
I had prepared an Easter sermon on this text, although I am not sure I understood it very well. By Easter morning, I was in denial, focused on getting through the day, before thinking about our future. Just before the service, I went up a stairway to pray with the choir, when I ran into my wife on the landing. She was in tears, because she understood what I wasn’t yet ready to accept: Our future was like a black hole. Almost everything we had worked for was in jeopardy: my career, our financial security, school for our kindergartener, a place to live, and even our friends in the church.
I continued up the stairs, prayed with the choir, and led worship! I sang the Easter hymns, and I preached to a congregation of 500 or more. I don’t remember what I said, but as I preached that morning, I was with those women: “trembling…bewildered…afraid.”
That day, I understood more than ever what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:14 “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” If Jesus was not alive, our adventure in faith was at a dead end. But if Jesus WAS alive, my life was not over, no matter what I felt, no matter what life would bring. My life would not be over—not ever!*****
On that first Easter morning, the women were “trembling…bewildered…afraid.” Was that the end of the story? No, for if had been the end of the story, Mark would not have bothered to write his gospel. The women would have gone home, to live out the rest of their lives in hopeless disappointment. But that isn’t how the story ended!
The other gospels, along with the Apostle Paul, fill in what happened later in the day, and the forty days after. The women eventually went and told the disciples. Peter and John ran to the tomb. Peter went in, and saw the strips of burial linen lying there, with the cloths that had been around the head still wrapped up. Mary Magdalene went back to the tomb and saw Jesus. Jesus appeared to 2 people on the road to Emmaus, and that same evening, he appeared to his disciples in Jerusalem. A week later, he appeared to his disciples again, and Thomas, who had not been present before, was with them. Later, Jesus appeared to seven of his disciples, who were fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Another time, Jesus appeared to 500 people. He also appeared to his brother James, who had not believed in him, but after seeing Jesus, became a leader in the church.
After 40 days, Jesus ascended to heaven. And the women? Ten days later, 50 days after that first morning, they were in the upper room, joining constantly in prayer with 120 disciples. On that Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the church in power, and in the days after, I have no doubt that these women were deeply involved with the 3000 new believers who met in home groups. One of those homes belonged to Mark’s mother!
“Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” Yet that was not the end of their story, for Jesus was alive!
HOW DOES YOUR STORY END?
If you came this morning, confused, sad, overwhelmed, troubled by guilt, oppressed by sin or evil, fearful for your future and the future of your family—or if all you hoped for was a nice happy morning—understand what this can mean for you.
Jesus is alive, and that changes everything! If you tremble, you can tremble at THE power of God over every other power—even death. If you are bewildered, God can show you the way. If you are afraid, you need to meet the Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, and hear him say to you, “Do not be afraid.”
“On a morning like this…”
The tomb was empty, because death and the grave could not hold him. Jesus was very much alive, and he met with his followers over a period of 40 days. Then, after he ascended into heaven, he was with them through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
On a morning like THIS—our morning…
Jesus is alive! Because he lives, we too can live in the power of his resurrection.
Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.
